You can’t turn anywhere without hearing about staffing shortages. We see the signs in every window, flags and banners in front of businesses, the endless media coverage about it. Why then are so many candidates saying that they aren’t hearing back from anyone when applying for openings?
Some of this may be out of your control as the candidate. Company priorities may have shifted since posting the job. They may be so short staffed that they aren’t responding in a timely manner. Perhaps you didn’t meet the educational requirements for the job. So what are some things we CAN control?
Something’s missing in your cover letter
Your cover letter is your chance to explain away potential concerns, such as explaining gaps in employment and to draw the correlations between your achievements and the prospective employer’s needs. A one size fits all cover letter or failing to make sure you’ve attached the correct cover letter can also create a road block. Your letter should be specific to the position to which you are applying. Additional info about Cover Letters can be found here.
You’ve listed too many jobs on your resume
It’s not necessary to mention every job you’ve ever held, especially if it was a second job that is completely irrelevant to the position for which you are applying. Restaurant and Wait Staff experience is excellent for showing the ability to interact face to face with customers and to multi-task in a fast paced, high volume environment, but it could be better pointed out in an interview or listed as “Additional Experiences”. For those jobs that are relevant, but perhaps in a different industry, focus on your transferable skills.
Typos, formatting, and spelling errors
Nothing says “I lack attention to detail” like a resume with errors. Pay attention to font or bullet size, margins and date formats- whatever date format you choose, be consistent. January, 2019 – 2/13/22 looks and reads messy. Be consistent with tenses. An easy way to do this is to keep all verbs in the past tense, except, of course, in your current position.
Outdated or inappropriate information on your resume
Take a look at your email address. Frankthetank@aol.com was fun in college, but a more professional email address will serve you better in your job search. It’s best to stick to some variation of your name with a gmail or outlook domain, and NOT your current work email either! (Yes, we’ve actually seen that)
And of course, marital status, hobbies and glamour shots should remain off your resume. Save that for your social media and while you’re at it, make sure that your public social media presence reflects someone that YOU would like to hire! Frank the Tank may win the beer pong tournament, but it probably isn’t the best public Facebook profile pic for Frank the job seeker.
Working with one of our experienced recruiters at MOLARI Employment and HealthCare Services can help prep both you and your resume for your job search and interview. Contact a MOLARI recruiter today!